The Ekati Diamond Mine is Canada's first operational diamond mining operation. It is located on Lac de Gras, 300 km north-east of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and was pioneered after prospector Chuck Fipke found Lac de Gras kimberlites in 1991. Ekati officially opened on October 14, 1998, and is operated by BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc., a part of the BHP Billiton Group, the world's largest diversified resources company. For other uses, see Diamond (disambiguation). ... The El Chino Mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine This article is about mineral extraction. ... Lac de Gras is a lake approximately 300 km north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. ... Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Multum In Parvo (Much In Little) Established: {{{Established}}} Area: 105. ... Chuck Fipke was a prospector who discovered the existence of diamonds around Lac de Gras in Canadas Northwest Territories. ... Lac de Gras is a lake approximately 300 km north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. ... October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in Leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... BHP Billiton is the worlds largest mining company. ...

Diamonds at the Ekati site are found in 45 to 62 million year old kimberlite pipes (Creaser et al, 2004), most of which lie underneath shallow lakes. Diamonds from the Ekati Mine are sold under the trade name Aurias. Authenticity is verified through the CanadaMark service, also operated by BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. Hewn kimberlite core sample from the James Bay Lowlands region of Northern Ontario, Canada. ...

Between 1998 and 2004, the mine has produced 26,033,000 carats (5,207 kg) of diamonds. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... It has been designated the: International Year of Rice (by the United Nations) International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO) 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization) Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar) See the world in... Meanings of Carat or Karat: Carat is a unit of mass for gems. ...

References

• Creaser, R.A. et al, 2004. "Macrocrystal phlogopite Rb-Sr dates for the Ekati property kimberlites, Slave Province, Canada: evidence for multiple intrusive episodes in the Paleocene and Eocene", 8th International Kimberlite Conference Selected Papers, vol. 1, pp. 399-414.

External links

• Ekati Diamond Mine
• Aurias diamonds